Because of you
by strawberries rule
Summary: finally updated 115! will they be meeting now? please read to find out! :D anyway, AU! AH! it's set in the future. [NALEY] n sorry for not updating in awhile! hope you all still like.
1. Default Chapter

THIS IS ANOTHER FIC I WROTE FOR OTH MESSAGE BOARD.it's AU! AH or AU. Whichever. It's either since the background is kind of off and it's set in the past [the flashbacks] and the future. This is another fic I started after ACCEPTANCE. It's pretty long, so i hope you guys like it. Feedback is appreciated!  
  
~~~****************~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was 4 years after Haley, Nathan, Lucas, Brooke, and Peyton's class of Tree Hill High graduated. It was today five years ago that we graduated, Nathan thought ruefully, staring at graduation pictures that were now scattered around him on the floor. Guess it's time to give Tree Hill a visit. It was, after all, 5 years since I was there, he thought picking himself off the floor, then walking towards his room. Lying on the bed he let his thoughts drift off to his graduation.  
  
At their graduation, they had cried, hugged, laughed about their foolish fighting, and had said good-bye. Haley, as expected, had been valedictorian and had given a memorable farewell speech. The whole class had thrown their graduation caps high into the air and had jumped with glee, while also feeling a sudden sadness that it was all over. The most memorable years of life had come and gone and now all they had was a new beginning and a bunch of memories to help them along the way.  
  
After graduation had been a party at Nathan's house. A final blast before they all left towards their own colleges, getting that much closer to their dream. During the party, Haley, Brooke, and Peyton had been laughing about the mishaps they had during the school years.  
  
Then, Brooke spotting Lucas nudged Peyton, who turned towards Lucas and smiled shyly. Lucas, who had spotted the trio at the same time, gave them a wave and smiled at Peyton before turning around to get to the food. Haley, who had seen that whole interaction and had given Lucas a wave, blurted, "Go after him. Ask him to dance. Then get your freak on!" Brooke smiled brightly and confirmed Haley's idea. "Yea, Peyton. Go get him before he dances with someone else."  
  
Getting all the encouragement she needed, Peyton got out of her seat and headed towards Lucas. As Haley and Brooke watched Peyton saunter her way over to Lucas all with a smile on their faces, Brooke spotted a really cute guy walking in front of her, all alone besides his drink.  
  
Brooke leaped at the opportunity to get to know this guy, and preferably make out with him, and so she leaped out of her seat and jogging towards her prey, called over her shoulder, "Sorry Hales. Saw someone I liked. Tell you all about it tomorrow." "Good Luck!" yelled Haley, grinning after her friend. Then, seeing that she was all alone at the table, stood up to get a drink.  
  
Before she had a chance to reach the punch table, Nathan had found her. "I wouldn't drink that if I were you. It's spiked." "Oh? Well, who says I don't want to drink it anyway? And besides, why would you care?" replied Haley, smirking a little. "Well, I wouldn't want my ex-tutor and FRIEND to end up drugged." Nathan retorted.  
  
Haley stared up at him and randomly asked, "Do you want to go somewhere quiet? You seem a little sad." Shaken, Nathan asked, "Sad? Me? I'm not sad. Just worried that's all." "Well, then you can tell me what you're worried about outside where it's quieter." Said Haley, wanting to hear what he had to say.  
  
She genuinely wanted to make him feel better, seeing how they had gotten real close during their senior year and he had always somehow made her smile with his jokes. It was time to pay him back, she thought and took his hand to lead him outside, heading towards the park.  
  
Nathan had smiled at the fact that Haley had pulled him the whole way, even though he weighed about 100 pounds more than she did and he was taller. But then the thought of having to go to college and not see his friends sadden him. And most of all, he would miss Haley. He had grown to care for his tutor and friend and thinking of going to school without seeing her smiling face every day was bringing him close to tears.  
  
She had become his friend without judging him first or because of his popularity. Thinking back on the first day he had seen her, Nathan began to smile. He had been so in need of a tutor that he had barged into her office in that small building demanding to see an available tutor that very second.  
  
Ever since then Haley had been there to help him in school, then they had become friends. During their sessions, Haley and Nathan started to talk about other things, like life and love interests. Without knowing it themselves, they had become best friends, and along with Haley had come Lucas.  
  
Because of Haley, Lucas and Nathan had started to understand each other and had formed a bond. A brotherly bond, Nathan thought staring at the ground and smiling. Haley had changed him for the better and Nathan learned to live with the fact that he wasn't PERFECT.  
  
Haley, wondering what Nathan was smiling about, asked, "So why were you sad, besides the fact that we're all leaving. I mean, you're pursuing your dream of becoming a star basketball player and I'm going to be a physician, so all's well, right?" Bringing himself back to his surroundings, he smiled sadly and said, "Aren't you sad that we'll all be leaving and won't be coming back?"  
  
"Yea, but we'll all be back sooner or later. We'll meet during the years. I'm happy that we all got into the schools we wanted to go to. You sure there isn't another reason that you're sad?" inquired Haley, having a small frown on her face.  
  
Mustering up the courage to ask her the question, Nathan turned to face her. "Well, there is. I was wondering." his voice drifted off as shouts came from the direction of the house. Then seeing Brooke, Peyton, and Lucas coming towards them, he changed his question and asked again, "I was wondering.what school you were going to?" "Oh, I thought I told you, but I'm going to Harvard."  
  
Figures, Nathan thought, she'll be too far away so I can't ask her out now. We won't even see each other. "Well, then I guess we better exchange numbers since we won't be able to see each other for awhile after school starts. Harvard is pretty far from Brown." Nathan said, bringing Haley almost to tears at the thought of Nathan being so far from her. I was so sure that he would ask me out, after all Lucas told me about him liking me and all. I guess he's scared, thought Haley. But what has he got to be scared about? I'd jump at the chance to be his girlfriend.  
  
Then, Lucas and Peyton reached them, with Brooke bouncing along, shouting, "They're together! Lucas asked her out!" Smiling a little, but sad that he had almost asked out Haley too, if it had not been for those three coming along, Nathan turned towards them and congratulated his brother.  
  
"Finally, bro. I was wondering when you would have asked. Now you won't talk about Peyton all day." Said Nathan smirking. Then Lucas looked at Haley, then at Nathan and asked, "Isn't there something you guys would like to say too?"  
  
Haley, understanding a little of what Lucas was asking, answered, "Yea. We better all exchange numbers since we won't be able to visit much throughout the school year. I expect us to all keep in touch."  
  
Confused Lucas turned towards his brother and mouthed, 'You didn't ask her?' Shaking his head, "no," Nathan smiled sadly then turned towards Haley, who along with the other girls were starting to cry. "Yea, Haley. We'll keep in touch." Said Peyton, getting a confirming nod from Brooke. Then all three of them broke down.  
  
Then, Peyton and Haley had turned towards the guys and Peyton burying her head into Lucas's chest starting crying, while Haley had buried her face into Nathan's chest crying a river.  
  
Brooke had come in hugging all 4 of them, and they had stood there making a big group hug.  
  
After that, they had all parted ways. Brooke going back to her hunk and Peyton and Lucas going to his house. Haley and Nathan were left alone together, and they spent the whole night discussing their future. The day after, Nathan had left to go to his college to get used to dorm life, and Haley had left to Harvard.  
  
Nathan had always regretted not telling Haley that he loved her, yes he loved her. He couldn't get the image of her out of his head, even when he had dated other girls and slept with some of them. Haley and the rest of the gang had been too busy to talk to, so he had never had the chance to meet up with them.  
  
But that would all change, Nathan thought getting out of bed and making plans to call them. He would tell them to meet at Tree Hill since it was their last year. He would manage to persuade Haley to leave her studies for a week and Brooke to leave her man hunting.  
  
Yep, I better get right on it, he thought picking up the phone to call Haley. He wanted so badly to see how much they had changed and hadn't changed, and he hoped that Haley didn't have a boyfriend.  
  
~~~*****~*~*~*~&~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it! I'm not sure if this will come out with the thoughts in ITALICS or not.so if it doesn't, SOMEONE please tell me HOW to do it!! THANKS!! 


	2. RING RING?

CH. 2  
  
Ring, Ring. "Hello?"  
  
"Haley?" PAUSE.then..  
  
"Haley who? There's no Haley living here."  
  
"Oh? Is this 243-451-5673?"  
  
"Yes. But there is no Haley living here."  
  
"Okay then. But if she does come home will you please tell her Nathan Scott called?"  
  
"Are you trying to piss me off? I repeat, there is NO ONE named Haley living here!"  
  
"Just tell her. Thanks"  
  
Click.  
  
Angrily, Joanne slammed down the phone. "That guy has some nerve! I tell him you're not here and he keeps demanding for you to answer. Doesn't he have a clue?"  
  
Smirking, Haley answered, "That's Nathan for you. Did he tell you why he called?"  
  
Calming down a little, Joanne answered, "No. But you should call him back. Why did you want me to tell him that you weren't home?"  
  
"Because. He's the guy I've been telling you about."  
  
"The guy who.That guy?!" receiving a nod of affirmation.  
  
"Yes, Jo. THAT guy. I wonder why he called though."  
  
"Why don't you call him back? The Caller ID didn't list him as NATHAN SCOTT."  
  
"Yea because I put him as SCOTT and I put Lucas as Luke. Makes it easier don't you think?"  
  
"No. It would've been easier if you just put Nathan's name. Anyway, just call him back okay? No need to trouble yourself over it. Make small talk and then you can hang up. But remember, once you hang up, you can't tell me how much you wanted to tell him this or that.cause I'm not going to listen to it any longer."  
  
"Okay, Fine. I won't, but promise me you'll be right there so that I won't make a fool of myself."  
  
"I promise. You won't Hales. Just don't ramble. It shows how nervous you get."  
  
"I do NOT ramble."  
  
"Sure, Hales. Whatever you want to believe. Call him after I get out of the shower."  
  
And with that Joanne headed towards the small bathroom in their dainty apartment room that they shared. Hales shot her a deadly glare, but fortunately Jo had her back turned.  
  
Haley then got up and went to her room to contemplate what would happen on the phone and how much Nathan had changed.  
  
Meanwhile, Nathan growled at the phone that he had slammed down. I KNOW Haley's there. I got that feeling I always get whenever I sense her presence. BUT why would that other girl lie to me? Nathan picked up his phone to call Lucas. Maybe Luke will tell me where Haley is, or maybe he'll tell me what's going on with Haley.  
  
Then, grimly, Nathan punched in the numbers for Lucas' dorm room and waited for him to pick up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ YES I KNOW that was SHORT.but next chapter will be slightly longer. HOPE YOU LIKED IT!! I STILL don't know how to put ITALICS on this thingy so MAYBE someone could help me out?? ^ ^" THANKS! 


	3. friendship

CH. 3  
  
Um, I just wanted to CLEAR something up. I DID write this for One tree hill central [a message board for one tree hill], and I AM the author for it.  
  
But the chapters do NOT correspond BECAUSE I would rather wait until more people reviewed, rather than just posting up more and more, without ANY reviews.  
  
SO SORRY FOR THE MIX-UP! HOPE YOU LIKE!!!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Yea, Luke right?"  
  
"Yea, who's this? ... Could it be Nathan, my younger brother?"  
  
"Yea, it's Nathan."  
  
"Nice of you to finally call me. Now, why have you decided to grace me with your hot self?"  
  
"Haha. Very funny. Well, it's our senior year and all so if you have nothing major to do, then I figured we could go back to Tree Hill to just hang out. You know? Like surprise the citizens there, and grace them with our presence."  
  
Chuckling, Lucas replied, "Being cocky again, huh?" Getting a laugh from Nathan, Lucas continued, "That sounds like a good idea, but we should meet after midterms. So is it just going to be us two or the rest of the gang coming?"  
  
Pretending to think about it, Nathan paused for awhile. "Uh, if I can get the rest of us to ditch their studies for a little while and come with us to have fun, then it'll be all of us."  
  
"So did you call anyone yet, or am I the first person you called?"  
  
Lying, Nathan answered through gritted teeth, "You're the first one."  
  
Knowing it was a lie, Lucas answered, "Thanks bro for thinking of me first, but you sure that you didn't call Haley before me?"  
  
Not receiving an answer, Lucas went on, "I know you did. You probably thought about calling her before the rest of us. Don't even try to deny it, bro. I know you well enough to know if you're lying."  
  
Sighing in defeat, Nathan admitted it. "Yeah I did call her, but some girl answered and told me that Haley wasn't there. I'm pretty sure I got the right number, the girl even confirmed it too, but if Haley is living there, then why would that girl lie to me?"  
  
"Hmmm, that doesn't really make sense. There was another girl? Haley lives alone though. . You did call 243-451-5673, right?"  
  
"Yeah. But I know Haley's there, since when I asked for Haley, the girl paused awhile. But Haley's hiding something, or she doesn't want to speak to me. I wonder why." Sighing harshly, Nathan leaned back on his bed.  
  
"Let me call her and see if she was busy or something. You want me to tell her about the plan or would you like her to call you back?"  
  
Pausing, Nathan replied, "Oh, I don't know."  
  
"Never mind. I'll tell her to call you back, but meanwhile, ask the rest of the gang and make sure that they can come. And remember to convince Brooke to ditch her man-hunts to come with us."  
  
Interrupting, Nathan replied, "I will. I had my persuasion speeches for both Peyton and Brooke all planned out. Hey, if Haley sounds off or mad or something, you call me instead, okay?"  
  
Smirking into his phone, Lucas answered, "Okay bro. I will. But don't wait by the phone okay? Call the rest of them, and I'll have Haley, or I'll call you back, in like 2 hours."  
  
"Me, wait by the phone? Hah." Nathan bit back.  
  
"Whatever bro. Well, talk to you later about the details. Bye." Then Lucas hung up.  
  
Laughing, Nathan hung up also and got ready to call the rest of the gang.  
  
Meanwhile, Lucas had punched in Haley's number and was waiting for her to pick up.  
  
"Hello?" answered Haley, half hoping it was Nathan and half hoping it wasn't.  
  
"Hales?"  
  
"Oh, Lucas! It's you! We haven't talked in awhile! It's good to hear your voice again!"  
  
"Same here Hales. I miss talking to you."  
  
"I do too, but you have Peyton, right?"  
  
Smiling a little, Lucas thought about his girlfriend of 4 years. "Yeah. But it's not the same. You're my best friend, and she's the girl I love."  
  
"So is it hard having a long-distance relationship? Semi-long?"  
  
"Not really. We call each other everyday, which brings us to our next topic."  
  
"Oh? Does it have anything to do with Nathan?"  
  
"So you know?"  
  
"Yeah. I was right there. You know I have a roommate right? Well, if you didn't, now you know. She's nice and pretty and sweet.and."  
  
"Hales. Stop rambling. It's okay. I didn't call to lecture you about it. Nathan had called you because he wanted to know if you'd be willing to go to Tree Hill again."  
  
"Luke, you know I have midterms coming up. And I'm busy."  
  
"We figured you'd say that, so I figured that we'd go after midterms. Actually I didn't tell him that yet, but you can tell him for me."  
  
"Wait, what? Who said I'm calling him?"  
  
Then Lucas heard an 'I did!' in the background.  
  
"I'm not talking to YOU Joanne. And I never said that! Besides, I'll be busy before and after."  
  
Lucas said teasingly, "So I figure that's your roommate? She has more common sense than you. She agrees that you should go, too. Why pass the chance to get to see Nathan and me? And the rest of the gang again before we graduate college? It's been awhile since we all saw each other and had time to talk. So what about it Hales?"  
  
"Uh, I don't know. I don't think I can."  
  
'SHE CAN!' came Joanne's voice in the background. 'I'll make her go! Plan on seeing her soon!'  
  
Laughing, Lucas replied, "Yup, Hales. I'm starting to like your roommate already."  
  
"Bite me." Haley answered, while glaring at her seemingly innocent friend.  
  
"Haha, I would but I have a girlfriend. Well, Haley, just talk to him okay? I have to call Peyton and see if she agreed to Nathan's plan."  
  
Dejected, Haley answered, "Okay."  
  
"Okay, Hales. Love ya."  
  
"love you too."  
  
Then Haley hung up, and looked at her friend. "What am I supposed to do? Luke wants me to call him."  
  
"call who? Nathan?"  
  
"yes!"  
  
"Then call him! I'm right here, so now's your chance!"  
  
"Oh, I hate you! You're supposed to be on my side!"  
  
"Love you." Joanne answered winking.  
  
"Just call him and get it over with. If you need help or something, I'll be right here reading so you can ask me or whatever."  
  
"Okay then. Since I know you're not going to let me go 'til I call him...Here goes nothing."  
  
Then Haley picked up the phone and pressed 1 on speed dial.  
  
~~~  
  
hope you guys liked it! And if you have ANY questions about the mix-up, feel free to e-mail me!!! Thanks! -margie 


	4. calling Nathan

Thanks for the reviews! And I finally have a beta reader for this story, AND SO, the grammar's good and spelling's good, too. WELL, HAPPY READING!!!  
  
CH. 4  
  
Haley started tapping her foot nervously on the dark wooden floor, as she waited for Nathan to pick up. Tap. Tap. Tap.  
  
"Uh, Hales? I'm trying to read over here. Stop worrying. He'll pick up soon."  
  
"I know that."  
  
"Uh-huh. How'd you dial his number so fast anyway? I didn't hear you punching in any digits."  
  
"Uh, well, I put him on speed dial."  
  
"So he's number 1?! My god, girl! You're like totally hung up on him still!"  
  
"No" protested Haley still clutching the phone to her ear.  
  
"You are! Remember when I was playing with the phone and I accidentally pressed 1 on speed dial and you freaked? Remember?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. Well, we'll talk about this later."  
  
"Okay, but stop tapping your foot. Twirl a pencil or something, just don't make any noise. I have to get this reading done by tonight."  
  
"Okay princess. I am your humble servant. ." Right as she was saying the second sentence, Nathan had picked up his phone.  
  
"You're my servant? That would be interesting."  
  
Gasping, Haley couldn't speak for a second. Joanne looked over to her and mouthed 'Say something! Anything!'  
  
Shooting her a glare, Haley giggled nervously. "Yeah that would be wouldn't it? But I was talking to Joanne, my roomie."  
  
"Oh, so was she the one who picked up my call before?"  
  
Struggling to form an answer, Haley frantically looked at Joanne, who was sitting up in her bed watching her curiously. "Uh, I guess?"  
  
As Haley was pacing the floor nervously, Joanne had taken the chance to put them on speaker phone, so that she could help Haley out.  
  
"So, did you decide if you wanted to go or not?" asked Nathan, hoping that Haley would go, and happy that Haley had decided to call him.  
  
Not that he wouldn't mind Lucas calling him again, just to catch up on old times, but talking to Haley was, in his opinion, 100 times better than Lucas. NO offense bro. Smirking, Nathan waited nervously for Haley's answer.  
  
"Uh." "What she means is yea. She'll go." came Joanne's voice, revealing to Nathan that he was on speaker phone.  
  
"Was I on speaker phone the whole time, Haley?" He asked somewhat sad that Haley didn't want to talk to him one-on-one.  
  
"Not really. Um, well, no. Just right now. Actually." she said, trailing off.  
  
Just then, Joanne jumped in to save her friend's butt, "Actually, I accidentally pushed the wrong button on the machine and it's now like this. We'll change it back if you want."  
  
Knowing it was all fake, Nathan shook off the sad feeling. "Nah. It's okay. But Haley, you're coming for sure right?"  
  
Biting her lip nervously, Haley turned to stare questioningly at Joanne, who was on the other hand, mouthing, 'Don't back out now! Remember last chance!'  
  
Then, wanting Haley to have some "privacy" with Nathan, left the room.  
  
~~~~  
  
PLEASE REVIEW!! Thanks! 


	5. On the phone with Nathan

Thanks for the reviews! Thanks to my beta reader for this story, she fixed the mistakes and stuff.hope you like!!! ^_^HAPPY READING!!!  
  
CH. 5  
  
Sitting in the plush chair of his room, Nathan waited impatiently for Haley to answer. "Uh, Haley, you there?" Hearing Haley's sigh, Nathan's heart sank. "You know it's okay if you can't come 'cause you're busy. I'll understand." But inside, Nathan prayed that Haley would say 'yes.'  
  
"Haley?"  
  
"Yea? Oh, sorry! I was just thinking. Sorry."   
  
Letting out a small 'HA,' Nathan shook his head. "So I'm taking it that you can't come, right?"   
  
Shaking her head furiously, Haley frowned.   
  
"Haley?"   
  
Embarrassed that she had forgotten that he wasn't there with her, Haley stammered, "I think I can come, but could I bring Joanne with me? She really wants to see the city that we all grew up in."   
  
Amused that someone would actually want to visit Tree Hill, Nathan replied, "Yeah, sure. She really wants to? You sure you didn't coax her into it?"   
  
A bit insulted, Haley bit back. "No, I'm sure I didn't."   
  
"I was just kidding. Well, I better get back to calling Brooke." Nathan said, realizing that talking to Haley was still as nerve-wrecking as it had been when they were still in high school.   
  
"Oh. Okay." Mumbled Haley, hurt that he wanted to end the conversation so fast. "Guess I'll be talking to you later then."   
  
"Yep. Bet on it. I'll call you when everything is finalized."   
  
"Okay. Bye, then."   
  
"Bye." And before Nathan could put down the phone, Joanne's voice rang out. 'Did he ask you out?'   
  
Chuckling to himself, Nathan hung up. Then Nathan picked up his cell phone and dialed Lucas's number again to give him the good news.  
  
Meanwhile, in Haley and Joanne's apartment.   
  
"No. He wanted to end the call so badly. He already hung up," said Haley with tearing eyes.   
  
"Aw, sweetie, you'll get to see him soon though," comforted Joanne, wrapping her arms around Haley's shoulders.   
  
Hearing that, Haley brightened a little. "You'll get to see him, too." She grinned as Joanne's mouth formed an O.   
  
"You mean I'm going with you too?" As Haley nodded her head, Joanne continued, "But I don't have time. I don't have money. Heck, I barely have anything!"   
  
Smirking, Haley replied, "Well, if I have time to go, then YOU have time to go too!"   
  
"But I NEVER said I wanted to go."   
  
"Yea, but I KNOW you want to. Besides, what will you do to pass the time without me?"   
  
"Isn't that being a little too cocky, princess?" smirked Joanne, crossing her arms in front of her.  
  
Laughing, Haley shot back, "Nope. You KNOW you'll be bored without me! AND I need your help. You're like Ms. Advice 101."   
  
"You're right. Without me, you might mess up the chance of ever being with Nathan."   
  
"Gee, thanks Jo. Glad to know you have so much confidence in me."  
  
"Love ya!"   
  
Rolling her eyes, Haley walked over to her dresser where the pictures of Nathan and Haley holding each other and of the whole gang were.   
  
Looking at the picture of Nathan and her together, Haley smiled longingly as she traced her finger over Nathan's outline.   
  
"You know, you should just ask him out. Stop wistfully waiting for him to ask you out," Joanne called out at Haley's back.   
  
"But that's like dropping a bomb on him." smirked Haley, turning around to face Joanne. "And besides, I haven't talked to him in awhile. I want to see how much he has changed."   
  
Smiling at her friend's cute wishful thinking, Joanne got up and wrapped her arms around Haley giving her a hug. "You are just too cute. If it had been me, I'd have dropped him and moved on. But that's just me. You on the other hand still waited for his calls, even after a year of not conversing."   
  
Smiling, Haley said, "You're just like Brooke. The last time I talked to her, she had dumped her boyfriend of 2 days after meeting a tennis hunk."   
  
Laughing, Joanne replied, "Yup. I would do exactly that." Pausing, Joanne turned towards the dresser, "Exactly when was my last date?"   
  
Patting Joanne's arm mockingly, Haley answered, "Yesterday."   
  
"Oh, yeah! His name was Greg? Or Paul? Or Richard? What was it?"   
  
Shaking her head in disbelief, Haley answered, "Troy."   
  
"Oh. Well, I guess I won't be going out tonight."   
  
Confused, Haley asked, "And why not? You always party or go to clubs."   
  
"Yeah, but my best friend needs me, so I'll be staying home tonight, thank you very much!" Then mockingly, Joanne stuck her nose up in the air and walked out of the room.   
  
Haley, laughing, turned to look at the picture of Nathan and her hugging on the beach. Hope you haven't changed much, thought Haley, flashing a small smile.  
  
Then, hearing Joanne call her name in the other room, Haley turned and walked away.  
  
~~~  
  
THANKS FOR READING!!! And THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!! BUT PLEASE REVIEW!! Thanks!! 


	6. talking with brooke

"Haley! Hurry up!" yelled Joanne, covering the mouthpiece of the phone with her hand. Haley practically sprinted towards Joanne, almost knocking her over.  
  
"What? Oh, who's on the line?" She asked grabbing the phone.  
  
"The caller ID says Brooke, so I guess its Brooke." joked Joanne.  
  
Haley took the phone and stuck her tongue out.  
  
"Cute, Haley, real cute."  
  
Scrunching up her face, Haley mocked Joanne teasingly, and then answered the phone. "Hello? Brooke?"  
  
"Hi Haley! How's Harvard treating ya? Got any cute guys over there?" asked Brooke excited.  
  
Happy that she finally was talking to her old friend, and laughing at Brooke's question, Haley shook her head.  
  
"Some, but they're too much into their books that they don't give girls the time of day."  
  
"Oh," pouted Brooke. "I was hoping you'd hook me up, you know?"  
  
"Haha" Haley laughed. "I figured. When do you take a break from thinking about guys?" Brooke jokingly, "Hey, I resent that you know!"  
  
Both of them laughing, they continued to talk about the past and future and, of course, the present.  
  
"Did Nathan call you already?" asked Brooke.  
  
"Yeah, I told him that I'd be going, but Joanne's going also. You'll love her, she's almost exactly like you, except she does take a break from the guys once in awhile."  
  
Laughing, Brooke queried, "Who's Joanne? Roomie?"  
  
"Yeah," answered Haley, twirling the phone chord around her finger absently.  
  
"Since when did you get a roommate?" demanded Brooke.  
  
"Since last year. By that time, we all stopped calling one another, and had no time to really contact each other," answered Haley, a little saddened by that fact. "I'm sorry." "What are you apologizing for? You don't have to apologize for anything. It's all our faults, not yours only. Don't trouble your pretty, intelligent head over it." Brooke soothed. "So I guess we'll all be meeting then?"  
  
"Yeah, Luke told me it was after midterms, and so Joanne and I will have time."  
  
"Great! Can't wait to see you! I missed you!" cried Brooke.  
  
"Ditto!"  
  
"But before we hang up, did Nathan mention anything peculiar? Did he ask you out? Did you guys talk for a long time?" asked Brooke, wanting to know all the details.  
  
"No. He wanted to hang up badly, and so I let him." answered Haley, a bit tearfully.  
  
"What do you mean he wanted to hang up?" demanded Brooke, shaking her head at both her friends' obliviousness. "He DIDN'T want to hang up. He was nervous and thought YOU wanted to hang up."  
  
"What?" asked Haley, a little shaken now. Her little outburst brought Joanne's gaze on her, and Haley shook her hand to let her know that she was all right.  
  
"I can't believe I have 2 of the world's most oblivious people as my friends! Gah! What are we supposed to do with you two?!" exclaimed Brooke, shaking her hands in the air. "You both misread each other's actions, and it's always for the worst, NEVER for the better. You never say, 'Nathan wanted to talk to me to ask me out.' INSTEAD, you said, i'Nathan wanted to talk to me, but I think it was to talk about some other girl.'i Goodness, Haley! You're driving me insane over here!"  
  
Surprised, Haley asked, "Nathan thinks I wanted to hang up on him?" Giving that a little bit of thought, Haley wondered, "Why would he say that? He was the one who wanted to call you instead!"  
  
"Haley, I give up!" sighed Brooke. "Maybe your roommate, if she knows your history, will be able to talk some sense into you. Gah! I have a headache now! Sorry, Hales, but I have to go and rest now. Explaining simple things like this was never this hard, until I met you two."  
  
Still confused, Haley replied, "Oh okay, Brooke. I'll call you later, maybe tomorrow."  
  
"Okay hun. Love ya!"  
  
"Love you too. Bye."  
  
Then they both hung up. Haley turned around with a confused expression.  
  
"What is it Haley?" questioned Joanne, concerned. "Did she say that Nathan had a girlfriend?"  
  
Haley hadn't even given that any thought, and now wondered if Nathan did have a girlfriend. "No, she didn't. She told me that I am an oblivious human being."  
  
"Now I see why we're alike. I totally agree with her, what's her name? Brooke? Well, I concur." Joanne smirked, as Haley cast her a glare. "What? You ARE oblivious! Remember that one time, when the guy at the market was checking you out, and you just thought he wanted to fruit next to you, so you handed it to him? Remember?"  
  
Haley tried to remember, but finding no trace of such happening, shook her head.  
  
"Well I remember, Hales. You should've seen the look on his face!" Laughing, Joanne patted her friend. "It's okay Haley."  
  
"I still don't know what you're talking about, but I am NOT oblivious." pouted Haley, sticking out her lower lip.  
  
"If you say so, sweetie." Patting Haley's arm, Joanne continued, "But I can't wait until midterms are over! I want to get to meet these friends of yours, especially that girl Brooke. I already know we're going to be GREAT friends."  
  
Shooting Haley a wink, Joanne went on, "Well, Haley, it's getting late and so I'm gonna go finish up my book. You should start your project, remember it's due on Thursday?"  
  
"Oh yea! Thanks for reminding me, I better get on it!" Then Haley went to her room to retrieve her coat and her purse. "I'm going to go to the library, so don't wait up okay?"  
  
"What is up with you and finishing projects in a day?" Joanne smiled, shaking her head. "But be careful, and I'll leave the light on for you, so come back as late as you want."  
  
Waving good-bye, Haley ran out the door, and Joanne went back to her boring book on human psychology, ready to read from page 1-1000 tonight. 


	7. answering machine

THANKS LOREN!!! Thanks to her, the next chapter is out!! ^_^" HOPE YOU LIKE! Thanks for ALL the reviews!!! ;P  
  
~SORRY THAT THE CHAPTERS AREN'T GETTING ANY LONGER!!! It's because they're mostly talking. UNTIL they meet, it might be short! Sorry!  
  
CH. 7 ~~  
  
"So you just hung up? God, Nathan, are you dumb?" Glaring into the phone, Nathan waited for Lucas to continue.  
  
"You heard her roommate ask if YOU asked Haley out, and still you hung up?! AND you think that she doesn't like you? Are you sick or something?"  
  
Biting back his anger, Nathan muttered, "I called you for advice, and you're lecturing me. If I wanted a lecture, I'd have called my dad."  
  
Sighing, Lucas answered, slumping his shoulders, "Sorry, Nathan. I just didn't think you'd be that oblivious."  
  
"Do you want me to call you later? Like when you're not in your "Let's pick on Nathan because Peyton's not fulfilling me right now" mood?" asked Nathan, his anger rising.  
  
Getting angry himself, Lucas narrowed his eyes and strained his voice, "Peyton is doing just fine. And I'd like it if you called me when you were in your "I was stupid, but I want to still have a chance" mood. I liked you better then."  
  
Turning his neck, and filling with contentment when it cracked, Nathan replied, "I DO want to ask her out, but we haven't talked to each other in awhile.Say, half a year? That's long, Luke."  
  
His anger simmering down, Lucas sighed sadly, "Yeah it is. Maybe you could get to know each other better later on, like during the trip. Which brings us to our next topic, dates."  
  
"But, bro, you're taken." Nathan smirked, rolling his shoulders to relieve himself of the tension building there.  
  
"Haha.That wasn't funny. Besides, you know what I meant."  
  
"Yeah, I did. We'll discuss it later. I need to get to practice early in the morning, so we'll talk later, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, okay."  
  
"So long, bro."  
  
"Bye" They both hung up, Nathan going to bed, and Lucas calling Haley.  
  
~LUCAS~  
  
"Hello? Is Haley there?" asked Lucas, resting his arm on his desk.  
  
"Hi. No. You're Lucas.don't worry, it's the caller ID." answered Joanne, dropping her book on the floor, thinking that the conversation would be getting VERY interesting.  
  
"Um, okay?"  
  
"So would you like me to leave a message? Or do you want to call back later? Like tomorrow?"  
  
"Uh, sure?"  
  
"Not much of a talker are you?" Getting no response from Lucas, Joanne continued, "Well, I'll leave her a message. Just to let you know, I'll be meeting all of you."  
  
"When?" inquired Lucas, unfazed by the sudden change of topic.  
  
"At Tree Hill, Haley's taking me."  
  
"Oh, okay then? I guess we'll be seeing each other."  
  
"Yup! I plan on helping as matchmaker."  
  
Liking the way that Joanne was thinking, Lucas smirked. "Oh? And does Haley know?"  
  
"Yeah. She knows. She even told me that I was like Brooke, your friend."  
  
Laughing now at that thought, Lucas said, "Then you must be one hell of a party goer, and a guy-chaser. No offense intended."  
  
"None taken. Hell, I take pride in that, thank-you-very-much."  
  
"Haha. Well, nice talking to you. I have to get going. And PLEASE tell her that I called."  
  
"No problemo. Nice talking to you, too."  
  
"Thanks, bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Smiling, Joanne thought, [i]Haley's lucky to have such sweet guys for friends. I really look forward to meeting him. HOPEFULLY, he won't have a girlfriend. If he does, then she's in for one hell of a fight.[/i]  
  
"It's just for fun." Joanne announced, smiling brightly to the empty room she was standing in.  
  
"Right. Just for fun." she reminded herself.  
  
Picking up her book, Joanne jotted down Lucas's name and the time on Haley's stationary paper. "Haley should be able to see this first thing when she comes back. And Haley's in for one hell of a ride."  
  
Conjuring up ways for Haley and Nathan to be together, she giggled and waltzed her way back into her bedroom.  
  
~~PLEASE REVIEW!!! Who should Lucas be with? Joanne, Brooke, or Peyton? PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR CHOICES! I'll write it according to the votes! ^_^ thanks for the reviews!! 


	8. thoughts sorry, but result was decided

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!! Greatly APPRECIATE THEM!!!  
  
I'm really stupid. I shouldn't have put up the "poll" because I already wrote the next chapters.  
  
I'M REALLY SORRY!!! THE RESULT FROM THE OTHER MESSAGE BOARD HAD BEEN JOANNE and since I ALREADY wrote this story out, I'll be making it Joanne and Lucas. SORRY!!!  
  
Hopefully, you guys will still like this story. Well, HAPPY READING!  
  
Here's CH. 8  
  
"Haley, wake up."   
  
"Hmm-mmm." Haley tossed onto her side, away from the voice.   
  
"Haley! Wake up!" Joanne cried, shaking Haley.   
  
"Go away." Haley replied. "You know you're interrupting the best dream I've ever had."   
  
"Oh? And what would that be?" countered Joanne, relieved that Haley woke up, JUST in time to get to her first class of the day. "Does it have anything to do with me and Lucas?"   
  
That grabbed Haley's attention. "You and Lucas?" Getting up, Haley asked again. "You and Lucas? Lucas is happy with Peyton. And how would you know Lucas?"   
  
Smiling secretly, Joanne answered, "Well, he called last night and we talked." "He called? Last night?" Raising her eyebrows in wonderment, Haley said "For you?"   
  
"No, silly." Laughing, Joanne got off Haley's bed and started walking towards her room. "For you, but we ended up talking anyway."   
  
"And what about?"   
  
"Well, you know. Our lives, one-night stands." she trailed off a list, as Haley gazed as her with one perfectly tweaked eyebrow raised. "And, finally, last but not least, you."   
  
"Me?" Now Haley was curious. She got up fully out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. "Well, I hope you had a nice chat about me."   
  
"Oh, we did."   
  
"You're bluffing, but it doesn't matter." Haley tried to brush off, but before she was fully inside the bathroom, Joanne said, "I probably am, but you're still curious. So there."  
  
Shaking her head, smiling, Haley began to get ready for her day.  
  
~NATHAN~  
  
Meanwhile, Nathan was already in basketball practice.  
  
"Mr. Scott, please concentrate."   
  
"Sorry sir," Nathan answered, coming back from his thoughts about Haley.  
  
His teammate passed him the ball, and practice went back to being normal.  
  
After practice though, after Nathan was all dressed, he joined his teammates, as he started walking out of the empty basketball gym.   
  
"Nathan" called out his teammate, Jordan, who had become his close friend in the last 3-4 years.   
  
Nathan waited for his friend, duffel bag resting on his shoulder, and towel in hand.   
  
"What?" as he asked that, an image of Haley walking towards him, came to mind.   
  
She was coming closer and closer, and smiling her special smile that she reserved just for him.  
  
Surprised that Haley had come, not knowing it was his imagination, Nathan asked, "Haley, what are you doing here?"   
  
"What? Who's Haley?" asked Jordan, bringing Nathan out of his reverie. "Where are you looking, cause I don't see any girl there, let alone a person."   
  
Shaking his head mournfully, Nathan answered, "I just thought I saw someone that's all."   
  
"Someone special, right?"   
  
"Yeah."  
  
"She's that girl you've been talking about, huh? The one who used to come to games to watch you and your brother, AND the one who you used to talk about all the time, even during your dates. Right?" asked Jordan, resting his hand on Nathan's shoulder.   
  
"Yeah," breathed Nathan, then pausing slightly, he inquired, "Is that why all those girls broke up with me? Because I talked about Haley?"   
  
"Yeah, dude. Remember Cherie?" Shaking his head, Jordan smirked at Nathan's confused expression. "Never mind, dude. She's no one that important. Well, anyway, after your date, she came back to me saying that all you did was talk about you and Haley used to do this and that. That drove Cherie almost over the edge."   
  
"Well, then tell her I'm sorry." replied Nathan firmly.   
  
Both of them turned and started walking towards the gym entrance/exit.   
  
"I did, man. To every girl you dated. And trust me, it wasn't pretty."  
  
Nathan frowning said, "Sorry, man. I'll make it up to you."   
  
Laughing Jordan replied, "It's okay. You already did."   
  
Bemused by Nathan's very confused expression, Jordan continued, "You know my girlfriend, Nicky?"  
  
Going on after Nathan nodded, "Well, she was one of the girls you dated last year, and after she came to me complaining, I asked her out on a date. And that's when our relationship started. So thanks to you, I have a wonderful girlfriend."   
  
Laughing Nathan nodded, understanding now.   
  
Jordan laughed, "So I'm saying that you missed out on many opportunities."   
  
Shaking his head, Nathan answered solemnly, "No, man. The only opportunity I want is the one with Haley."   
  
Patting Nathan, fatherly, Jordan laughed, "Dude, you're in over your head. Hopefully, you'll get her and give me a break."   
  
Punching Jordan lightly, he smirked, "Hey, that's the thing you have to go through for all the girls going to YOU afterwards."   
  
Holding up his hands in mock surrender, Jordan answered, "It's not like you even gave them the time of day again after your dates, so I was the best candidate."   
  
Smirking, Nathan answered, "Well, thanks man. Thanks a lot."   
  
Smiling, Jordan replied, "No problem."  
  
And they exited the gym, duffel bags in hand, in silence, each deep in their own thoughts.  
  
Jordan's about Nicky and their date tonight, and Nathan's about Haley and the trip.  
  
~~ HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS Liked/Loved this! Well, please review! And sorry, but it's going to be Joanne/Lucas! Sorry. -marg. 


	9. a WHAT!

HOPEFULLY, you guys STILL like this story. I'm SORRY FOR NOT GOING WITH YOUR VOTES, but my other stories have Lucas with Brooke or Peyton or WILL HAVE THEM AS A COUPLE. Please review! And THANKS FOR READING! -marg.  
  
It had been a month since the group had spoken. The whole thing had been so hard to plan, and Nathan and Lucas had done everything they could to make sure it would be perfect.  
  
Yeah, it had been Nathan's idea, but Lucas was willing to help him out, since Nathan and Haley couldn't really talk to each other without feeling all jittery inside AND FORGETTING what to say.  
  
Yup, life was good for Lucas. He was the "middle" guy, the "peacemaker." Or, maybe the "matchmaker," but Joanne insisted that she was the matchmaker.  
  
Lucas had been talking to Joanne ever since that one night when he couldn't get a hold of Haley. She was perky, in a good way, and always managed to get him to smile, whether it had been a good day or not.  
  
He was really looking forward to meeting her, since they were becoming great friends. [i]Right, friends,[/i] Lucas thought, gazing at the ceiling with one hand supporting his head. [i]Wonder what Peyton's doing right now.[/i] Picking up the phone, he dialed her cell, reaching the voice mailbox instead.  
  
"What is she doing? It's almost 9." Lucas, glancing at the clock, thought aloud. "She's always busy! No wonder I got closer to Joanne, my own girlfriend's never there to talk to me."  
  
Grumbling to himself, Lucas walked over to his closet, selecting a jacket, and slamming the door after him as he walked out of his dorm.  
  
-MEANWHILE, in HALEY and JOANNE'S apartment-  
  
"So, Haley, sweetie. Don't worry about it, okay?" Rolling her eyes inwardly at the retard of a guy, Joanne smoothed Haley's hair. "It's not your fault you didn't even like the guy. Haley, look at me. It's not your fault."  
  
Sniffing, Haley looked up with tears brimming her eyes. "Yeah it is. If I had just told him that I'd go tonight, he wouldn't have killed himself." she trailed off, bending her head as tears fell.  
  
"Haley, listen to yourself! You're not making any sense! Do you even hear what you're saying?" Joanne asked shocked. "Sweetie, he didn't have anyone else to leave that note to. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all. Haley, look at me. He was probably planning it all along."  
  
Sighing as she shook her head, Joanne gathered Haley into her arms and rocked her until her tears died down.  
  
"Shhhh. It's okay." Joanne soothed. "Remember, hun, it's NOT your fault!"  
  
Nodding her head under Joanne's arm, Haley muttered, "But why did he have to leave that note? Why couldn't he have just left me alone?"  
  
Smoothing down Haley's hair, Joanne answered, "Because he had no one else. You were helping him out, and he figured that he had no one else left, and left the burden to you. It was really inconsiderate of him, but Haley, he was planning it before. I'm pretty sure of it."  
  
Wiping her eyes, Haley sat up in front of Joanne, mumbling, "Yeah. Okay."  
  
Patting Haley on the back, Joanne offered a small smile. "Now get ready. I want you to meet my date."  
  
Sniffling, but giving a smile, Haley got up. "I'll be ready in a bit." Then she turned and walked into the bathroom.  
  
Smoothing her own light brown, almost copper, hair, Joanne sighed. Haley had such a big heart, and somehow always managed to get herself hurt. [i] As long as she has me on the trip, I'll make sure that Nathan won't hurt her, ever again,[/i] Joanne thought triumphantly, shaking her fist in the air.  
  
She started at the ringing of the phone. "Not again. Why, oh why, do you always have to ring?" Glaring at the phone, she dared it to ring one more time.  
  
When it didn't, Joanne smirked, heading towards her room. Halfway, the phone started ringing again. "Damn you."  
  
Snatching the phone out of its holder, Joanne impatiently waited for the caller to start speaking.  
  
Barely a second had passed when Joanne angrily said, "I am so not in the mood. So damn you, whoever you are. Go away."  
  
Chuckling, Lucas answered, "Oh? You were always in the mood before."  
  
Somewhat in a better mood now, Joanne muttered, "I blame it on hormones. Besides, the other times, Haley wasn't crying."  
  
That caught Lucas's attention. Changing his whole demeanor, Lucas asked gravely, "Who did this to her?"  
  
Confused, Joanne raised an eyebrow. "Who did what to her?"  
  
"Who made her cry, duh. And I thought you were the more "smart" one."  
  
"Oh, bite me."  
  
Lucas, laughing, answered, "You're sounded exactly like Haley."  
  
"Just shut up for a second." Joanne practically yelled into the phone.  
  
Hearing Haley come out of the bathroom, Joanne changed her mind. "On second thought, here's Haley."  
  
Shoving the phone in Haley's face, Joanne stalked off towards the room.  
  
Puzzled, Haley stared after Joanne's retreating form.  
  
"Hey?"  
  
"What's wrong? Did someone hurt you?"  
  
Feeling the tears coming on, Haley bit her lip. "No. Well, yes. Someone died for me."  
  
Taken aback, Lucas repeated, "Died for you?"  
  
"Yeah. But I don't want to talk about that right now." Haley said, changing the subject. "Why'd you call?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know. I was bored. My girlfriend's been hard to track down for the last week, and Brooke's out at the clubs. Nathan, on the other hand, is probably playing basketball with his friends, while I'm stuck here all alone. So, I decided to call my best friend."  
  
Rolling her eyes, in a better mood, Haley bit out, "So, me last, huh? Good to know where I stand on your list."  
  
Rolling his eyes too, Lucas smiled. "I thought you'd be busy, you know, studying all the time."  
  
"I do NOT study all the time!" Haley protested, a bit insulted.  
  
"Yes you do, Ms. Smarty-pants. Every time I called so far, you've been studying, or doing God-knows-what."  
  
"Oh, Bite me! You're not my keeper!" Haley said loudly.  
  
"You know, funny thing is, Joanne said the same thing to me, just before."  
  
"I'm sure you'd love to bite her, huh?"  
  
"Well, there's nothing for me to bite tonight, so sure."  
  
"Oh, ew! Lucas, you didn't have to tell me that bit of information! Keep your bedroom activities to yourself and Peyton."  
  
Chuckling, Lucas answered, "I'm sure you were dying to know."  
  
"Oh yea." Haley answered, rolling her eyes, while twisting the phone chord. Hearing the doorbell ring, Haley glanced at Joanne's door, but Joanne had yet to emerge.  
  
The doorbell rang again, echoing in her apartment.  
  
Lucas heard it too. "You gotta go?"  
  
"Yeah. I have to answer the door. I'll call you later."  
  
"Yea, sure. Are you going out tonight?"  
  
"Yeah, I think Joanne's dragging me along."  
  
"Okay then. Talk to you later, Hales."  
  
"later."  
  
The doorbell had rung three more times, but Joanne still hadn't opened the door.  
  
Throwing Joanne's door a glare, Haley stalked off towards the door, throwing the door wide open.  
  
The man, who was holding a bouquet, held it out to her. "So you must be Haley."  
  
"And who are you?"  
  
"Joanne's date's friend. She told me we were going to double-date tonight."  
  
Stunned, Haley said, "Let me get back to you on that one. Hold on a sec."  
  
Slamming the door in his face, Haley flung Joanne's door wide open. "Why didn't you tell me I was going on a date too?"  
  
Joanne, slipping on her shirt, answered, "Well, I didn't have the time. But hurry up and get ready. I'll try to stall them."  
  
"I am NOT going on a date!"  
  
"Oh come on. You haven't been on a date since forever! Just tonight, please? It's not like Nathan will ever find out."  
  
"Sure, with your big mouth and all," Haley muttered, glowering.  
  
"What was that? Well, it doesn't matter. He won't find out, and you'll have a blast!" Nudging Haley towards Haley's own door, Joanne added, "Besides, did you get a good look at the guy that I picked for you? He's hot!"  
  
Shaking herself free of Joanne's grasp, Haley said, "I didn't look at him. I was too hung over the fact that I have a date tonight with someone YOU picked!"  
  
"Oh, get over it! You'll have a blast! And besides, you owe me one, remember? Or did you forget that I'm going to Tree Hill with you?"  
  
Realizing that too, Haley relented, "Fine. But this is THE last time you're ever going to do this for me. THE LAST TIME! Did you hear me? The last time, or I swear I'll kick you out."  
  
Shaking off the warning, Joanne opened Haley's door and pushed her inside. "Just get ready in 5, and this will be the last time. I swear."  
  
"Fine," with that Haley headed towards her closet, trying to find something to wear.  
  
[i]Hopefully Joanne won't get any more wild ideas. She better keep her mouth shut about this. I don't want the others finding out, especially NOT Nathan! [/i] She thought grimly, shoving her arm into the sleeve of her jacket.  
  
~~~ PLEASE REVIEW!! Just tell me what you REALLY think! It can be GOOD or BAD! ^_^" thanks! -marg. 


	10. HELLOOOOOO

Thanks for the reviews! Don't let who Lucas is going to be with stop you from reading this chapter or even this story. And in this CHAPTER, Lucas won't be coming out.  
  
THANKS FOR READING! Please keep the reviews coming! ^_^ -marg! ~~~~~~~  
  
"Psssst. Haley. Haley?" Joanne nudged Haley with her elbow, trying to get her attention.  
  
They were sitting in a booth, one of those corner ones, shaped almost like a triangle.  
  
When they had arrived, Haley had insisted that she sit in one of those, instead of the square ones. Thinking nothing of it, the two guys had asked the waiter to change their seats.  
  
Haley had nearly run over to the table, pushing Joanne into the seat before her, so she didn't have to sit next to John Decoroff, her date. When her date politely asked her to scoot over, Haley had refused, giving an excuse about going to the bathroom a lot during the meal.  
  
John, clueless still, had accepted the excuse, shooting a charming smile her way.  
  
Haley, though, was too busy thinking of ways to escape, while Joanne was casting her worrying glances, almost regretting bringing Haley along.  
  
Joanne's date, Quentin, noticed Haley's uncomfortable-ness, he joked around, trying to break the ice, but failing miserably, stopped, concentrating only on Joanne.  
  
Meanwhile, Haley stood up abruptly, after 10 minutes of contemplating on what to do, and announced that she was heading towards the restroom.  
  
Joanne watching worriedly, jumped up, giving an excuse about girls needing friends to go to the bathroom.  
  
Catching up with Haley, Joanne wiped her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Haley, hun. What's wrong? Is he that bad? We can go home now if you want."  
  
Not wanting to keep Joanne from her fun, she denied it, "Oh no. I'm just feeling a little queasy. It'll pass."  
  
Glad, Joanne bubbled, "Good. We're going to a club afterwards, so you can ditch your date there if you get tired of him."  
  
Not in the least shocked, Haley replied, "Joanne. Stop reminding me that I'm here on a date."  
  
"Oh, right right. If you want, we can head to the club now."  
  
"Oh, it's okay. I'm sure I can last for 30 more minutes. After that though, we're leaving."  
  
Making a mental note to herself, Joanne nodded, wrapping her arm around Haley's waist. They turned around and headed back towards the awaiting guys.  
  
30 minutes later, a bored Haley stood up, while her date went on and on about his major.  
  
Joanne interrupted, feeling bad for the guy, "Um, guys, looks like we're going to have to leave. How about we call you later?"  
  
Shaking her head at the guys' nativity, Haley smiled to herself. She knew that Joanne would NEVER again call that guy, nor would she herself call John.  
  
While Joanne gave the two guys an excuse, Haley made her way towards the payphones and called a taxi.  
  
Pulling Joanne with her, Haley smiled fakely at the guys, and made their way out the door, leaving the guys to pay the bill.  
  
Shivering in the cold, Joanne asked, "You sure that the cab's coming?"  
  
Impatient and cold herself, she replied through gritted teeth, "Yes! He said he was coming in 10 minutes." Spotting the bright yellow cab, she exclaimed, "And there it is now!"  
  
Practically jumping into the car, they both tried to warm themselves, and Joanne gave the directions. [i]It was a long way from Harvard[/i], Haley thought gazing around.  
  
Reaching their destination, they hastily paid the driver and made their way towards the entrance. They could hear the loud music from where they were standing. Impatient to get into a warm place, they snapped open their wallets and showed the bouncer their licenses, who showed them in.  
  
Joanne, jabbing her friend in the arm, led her off towards the bar.  
  
"Ow, Joanne. What was that for?" she asked, rubbing her arm.  
  
"Did you notice the way that he was staring at your ass?"  
  
"No."  
  
"You are so not fun," Joanne huffed. "Let's go dance."  
  
Protesting wildly, but failing miserably, Haley was led to the dance floor. Joanne started busting her moves on an unsuspecting guy, who was obviously enjoying her. Winking at Haley, Joanne turned back towards the guy.  
  
Smiling at her friend's boldness, Haley started relaxing with the music busting loudly.  
  
She was really into it, when she bumped into someone behind her. Turning around in order to apologize, she immediately stopped dancing, as she stared shocked at the guy/man in front of her.  
  
The guy, equally as shocked, stared back.  
  
Haley, breaking out of the trance first, asked, "Nathan?!" staring at him oogle eyed. "What are you doing here?!"  
  
~~ Was it what you were expecting? xP hope not! Haha. Please review, at least tell me what you think! Thanks! -marg! 


	11. hi, bye!

Thanks for the feedback! Good thing that who Lucas is going to be with didn't hinder your reading this story! ^_^"  
  
Warning: all of the gang are seniors in COLLEGE.  
  
Ch. 10  
  
Nathan, still shocked at seeing Haley again so soon, replied, "I'm here with my friends. See that guy over there?" he asked pointing to Jordan. "He's like my brother; we're on the team together."  
  
Haley smiled, "That's nice." Getting bumped by different kinds of people on the dance floor, Haley asked, "Do you want to go talk? That is if your date doesn't mind."  
  
"I didn't bring a date. I came with my friends. I told you already," he answered smiling. Guiding Haley, putting his hand on the small of her back, he walked over to a high table and set a stool before Haley. "Here you go."  
  
Smiling softly, she sat down and waited as Nathan grabbed a stool nearby and settled himself into it.  
  
"So, what brings you here? To club Fantasy?" [A/N: sorry, it's lame, but the best I could come up with! ^ ^]  
  
"Remember Joanne?" Haley asked, looking over to Joanne who was still freaking with that poor, innocent guy. "Well, she told me that we were going to a club and so, here I am." She smiled at him, as he stared at her intensely.  
  
"Is she your roommate?" At Haley's nod, he continued, "So she's the girl that's going to Tree Hill with us."  
  
Watching Joanne for a few seconds, he added, "She's a bit more open than Brooke." Shaking his head, turning back to Haley, said, "I'd never thought I'd see a girl WORSE than Brooke."  
  
Defending her friend, Haley said, "She's not bad! And Brooke's not bad either! Leave them alone!"  
  
"I never said that they were bad. I just meant that ... You know what? Forget it." He said, shaking his head. "I seem to say that wrong things at the wrong time."  
  
Haley cried out, "That's not true!" Reaching over the table to take Nathan's hand, she added, "You're one of the sweetest guys I know."  
  
In a better spirit, he replied, "I'm not the sweetest?"  
  
Smiling, she told him. "Nope. But you're up there."  
  
"Good to know," he responded, rubbing a small circle on Haley's hand.  
  
"Hey, Haley. Who's this?" Joanne's excited voice asked.  
  
Laying a hand on Nathan's shoulder and looking at the dark brown hair, it dawned on her.  
  
Gazing up at Haley's blushing face, she mouthed from behind Nathan, [i]'Is this Nathan Scott?'[/i]  
  
Haley gave a small nod in return.  
  
Eyes widening, Joanne walked over next to Haley to get a good look at Nathan. [i]He's cute! Too bad he's already taken by Haley. Oh well,[/i] she thought as she extended her hand.  
  
"Hi, I'm Joanne. You must be Nathan. Haley's told me so much about you," she informed him, receiving a stomp on the foot from Haley.  
  
Smirking over at Haley, he shook Joanne's hand. "Hopefully they were good things."  
  
"Yeah, she went on and on and...Ow!" she cried when Haley stomped again. "She just told me basic things. Well, you guys should go out and catch up, it's been awhile, hasn't it?"  
  
"Yeah," Nathan answered, smiling ruefully at Haley's still blushing face. "You want to go and catch up?" he asked Haley.  
  
"But what about you?" she asked Joanne.  
  
"It's okay. Don't worry about me," she assured Haley, waving them off.  
  
As Haley began to protest, Joanne added, "Maybe I'll stay here a bit longer and get a ride off that cutie over there."  
  
Winking, Joanne started off, shaking her butt a little and tossing her hair over her shoulder.  
  
Shaking her head, smiling amusedly, Haley watched as her friend approached the "prey," sitting down next to him.  
  
Turning around to tell Nathan that she was going to head out, she laughed at Nathan's surprised expression, his mouth agape.  
  
"Is she always like that?"  
  
Haley smirked. "Yup. She always manages to get the guy to succumb to her. And usually she gets the guy for a date. She's gifted like that."  
  
Nathan changed his expression, now smirking. "Gifted, eh?"  
  
"Yeah. You're gifted like that too." Smiling ruefully at him. "You manage to always get a girl. Remember during high school? You had all the girls following you and fawning over you. And I remember that girl who proposed to you!"  
  
Patting him and laughing, she said, "Yup. Really talented."  
  
"But not the girl that counts."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"I mean, I never got the girl I wanted." He repeated, staring intensely at her.  
  
"Oh." She replied. Thinking about how many dates he'd been on so far and who THE LUCKY GIRL was, she felt like crying.  
  
Creasing his forehead, his brows forming a 'V,' he asked, worried, "What's wrong?"  
  
Staring up at him through unshed tears, she quickly replied, "Excuse me."  
  
And she left, grabbing Joanne, who was making out with the guy, muttering an excuse, and dragged them towards the exit.  
  
Nathan watched very confused and perturbed through the whole ordeal. [i]What the HELL was that?! Guess that answers my question. She doesn't even want to be near my presence. Gotta call Lucas and tell him that I was right.[/i]  
  
Taking out his phone, Nathan started to press Lucas's digits as a girl, dressed in close to nothing, came up and snaked her arm around him.  
  
"Wanna dance?" she asked, as husky and sexy as she could manage.  
  
Weighing his options and reminding himself that Haley didn't care, Nathan answered, "Why not?"  
  
Setting his arms over her shoulder, he walked towards the dance floor.  
  
Starting to dance, she asked, intertwining her hands with his, "So what's your name?"  
  
"Nathan."  
  
Pressing her body full on to his, she whispered, her face leaning up towards him, "I'm Jaimie." And started to kiss him, kissing harder when his hands wrapped around her waist.  
  
Pausing for breath, Jaimie said softly, staring hungrily at his lips, "Let's go somewhere quieter."  
  
Nodding his head, unable to talk, Nathan leaned in first to continue the kiss, as they made their way out of the club.  
  
[i]Reminder to self, call Lucas and Jordan tomorrow morning.[/i] Nathan made a mental note, as he fished into his pockets for his keys.  
  
Jaimie pushed him against his car, her hands roaming.  
  
Opening the car door, they continued to make out as Nathan's phone vibrated in his pocket.  
  
~~ liked? Yes/no? what didn't you like? What DID you like? Thanks for reading! –marg. 


	12. kicking out the girl

Ch. 11

Nathan rolled over on the bed, surprised to feel someone else occupying it. Opening one eye slowly, hoping it was all a dream, Nathan's gaze focused on a girl, naked, on the other side of the bed.

_Oh My G-D!_ he thought tumbling out of bed. Tripping over the sheets, he nearly got stuck in them. _Oh God. _

"Where the hell are my clothes?" Nathan asked. Looking over his body, he let out a sigh of relief.

_Good, we didn't get that far. My boxers are still on. Whew! _Searching the room for his pants at least, he finally realized that he had discarded them outside, in the living room of his dorm. _Good thing I don't share rooms. God, this would've been embarrassing. _

Shaking his head, he ran out, shivering once his feet hit the cold wooden floor. _Oh God, what time is it? _Looking at the clock, he almost shouted, "8?! Shit! I'm late for practice!"

Remembering the girl in his bed, he ran back to the room, trying to put his pants on. "What am I supposed to do with her? I can't just leave her here." _Ah, forget ethics. _

Getting close to the girl's ear, he practically shouted in her ear. "Get up! It's morning! Get out of my room! I'm late!"

Groaning, Jaimie opened her eyes, trying to focus them. Flipping over on her back, giving Nathan a full view, she yawned and stretched her arms. Nathan turned away disgusted. "Can you get out of my bed? I have to get going. Find your clothes and leave."

Rubbing her eyes, she brought her gaze to Nathan. "Didn't you enjoy last night though?"

"No. Can you please just go? Pick up your clothes and get dressed in here, or pick them up on your way out and get dressed in the hallway. Whichever one you choose doesn't matter to me as long as you do it fast."

Pouting, Jaimie tried to bring Nathan down for a kiss, as he leaned back, pushing her back. "Woah, woah. Brush your teeth. You smell."

Embarrassed, Jaimie blushed. "Sorry."

"And get some clothes on. I don't want to see you naked."

"But you did last night."

"We didn't do anything last night. And can you please hurry?"

"I'm pregnant!"

"What the hell?! For your information, it can't be mine, and also we didn't do anything. I had my boxers on. So, don't even try to lie to me. Although you don't know how to do that well either."

Jaimie pouted, seeing how it wasn't going to work. She decided it was a waste of time, so she got out of bed and walked outside, cursing when the cold air hit her full blast.

Finished dressing, Jaimie cussed at Nathan, as Nathan packed his duffel bag, in a rush.

"Yeah, yea. Can you leave now? I have to go."

"Fuck you."

"No thanks. And bye." Nathan said, closing the door in her face.

Happy that he found his jersey, he slipped it on, grabbing his duffel bag and picking his cell off the ground. Flipping it open, he was surprised to find 5 messages waiting for him. Opening the door, Nathan brought the phone to his ear as he listened to his voice mailbox. By the time he closed the door, message number 1 had begun to play..

Message 1:

"Hey, Nathan. It's Jordan. You just bailed on us, so I was wondering where you are. Once you get this call me. And remember early practice tomorrow."

_Shit. Yeah, guess I'm too late for that then. _Making a mental note to call Jordan back, he decided to just go to the gym and see if he could make it to the end of practice.

Still listening to his messages, Nathan opened his car door and drove off, cell still in hand.

Message 2:

"Nathan. Hi. Yeah, this is Brooke. Don't you always have your phone on? Well, anyway, I was wondering if you talked to Haley yet. Anyway, just call me back. Bye."

Message 3:

"Bro. Where are you? I called your dorm and you're not there. Once you get this, call me back."

Message 4:

"Nathan. It's Lucas. Where are you? Call me back."

Message 5:

"Nathan, it's Jordan. Practice is still on, just at a later time, 9-11. Make sure you get you're a$$ over to the gym by practice. See ya."

_Thank G-D! I'm not late!_

Message 6:

"Okay, I called you many times. I know that. God, I'm sounding like your nagging girlfriend. Anyway, where are you? Did you meet Haley tonight? Call me back!"

Nathan smirked at Lucas's messages, as he pulled into Brown's basketball gym's parking lot.

_Girlfriend? So Lucas thinks of himself as a girl? _Chuckling at the thought, Nathan got out of the car, duffel bag in hand. _Wait till Peyton gets a load of that. Hey, I haven't talked to Peyton in awhile. Wonder what's happened to her. Should ask Lucas about her. _

Spotting Jordan and the rest of the team hanging outside the gym, Nathan waved his hand, as he ventured over.


	13. haley

_Hope you all like this chapter. –marg._

Ch. 12

"Nathan! Yo, Nathan!" called Jordan, jogging up to catch up with him, after their strenuous practice. Nathan turned slightly, smirking when he saw Jordan running to him, face all red. Stopping to let Jordan take a breather, Nathan asked, "What? Need a ride?"

Taking in a deep breath, Jordan replied, "No. I just wanted to know if you were doing anything today."

"Nope. Not that I know of. Why?"

"Cause the rest of us," gesturing to the lingering guys at the entrance of the locker room, busy discussing something, "were thinking about heading to a party in the evening. Till then we could shoot hoops or something."

Thinking about the unanswered messages still on his phone, he declined. "Sorry, but I'll have to decline. I have to return some calls."

"Oh, about the trip right?"

"Yeah. Sorry about that," he apologized, fishing into his duffel bag for his cell.

"It's okay," he waved off. "Have fun though. And that girl you were with last night…" he trailed off.

"Last night? Which one?" Nathan asked, hoping Jordan hadn't seen Jaimie.

"The one you were looking sadly at. I was going to head over, but you both looked like you needed some time alone."

"Oh her."

"Why, were there 2?" Jordan asked, taken aback. When Nathan didn't answer, Jordan spoke out, "Dude, yesterday you were declining every girl's offer, only dancing when we paid ya. And then after you see some girl, getting your heart broken, or something, you go out with 2?! One girl and you change completely." Concern masking shock, he added, "Are you okay?"

Waving it off, he answered, "Yea. I'm fine." Thinking it over, he asked, "What color was the girl's hair? The one you saw me with?"

"She was a brunette. Cute, too."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Nathan said, "Good."

"Did you leave with some other girl?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Because you were gone. And I left you messages on your phone. So spill," Jordan said.

"Some girl ended up in my bed. …"

"And you don't remember?" Jordan smirked.

"No. I do, kinda. But I don't want anyone else finding out. The girl you saw me with was Haley James."

"THE Haley James?" At Nathan's nod, he continued. "And the girl you left with wasn't. Right?" Nathan nodded. "What the hell happened to make you leave with some other girl?! You've been hung over Haley, and the next minute you leave with someone else. Are you out of your mind?"

Nathan smiled ruefully. "So, you think if I told her, she'd still want me?"

Jordan rolled his eyes, running his hand through his hair. "What do you think, genius? You think you'd take her back if she ended up in someone else's bed? I think not."

At which Nathan shook his head. "What did she do to you to make you turn to some other girl?"

"Well," Nathan started, relaying the whole events that happened last night to Jordan.

At the end of it, Jordan asked, "So you just went with the girl. No questions. You just left." Jordan shook his head. "Nate, man, I thought you would do something. At least run after the girl, man. That's what you should've done. Run after her and beg her to stay, or SOMETHING!" Jordan shook his head, exasperated. "I have a doofus for a friend."

"Hey!"

"What? I do! You are so- Whatever. Just get this straightened up, okay? And in the meantime, don't get in bed with ANOTHER girl. Okay, Scott? Take my advice. Don't get within 3 feet of another girl. Not wise at all."

Nathan smiled at his friend's frustration. "Thanks, man."

"Don't thank me until you get your girl," Jordan smiled, taking his keys out. "Okay, I'm going to go. If you want to join us later, just give me a call. Bye." He turned, giving a wave. Nathan waved back, turning around to head to his car.

-HALEY-

"So you wanna wake up Hales? You can't stay in bed today, remember? You have class."

Groaning, Haley brought the blanket down to her waist. Squinting at Joanne, she asked, "Which class?"

"English."

"Oh, right," Haley answered, getting out of bed fast. Slipping by Joanne to get into the bathroom, she stopped when she felt Joanne grip her arm. "What?"

"Hope you know what you did last night," Joanne said calmly.

"I know what I did."

"But did you see the look on his face when you left? Oh, honey, you have to start thinking about his feelings too, you know? You can't just leave whenever you want, or hang up whenever you're feeling like sht. I bet, last night, he didn't even say anything bad at all. You were just being paranoid."

Haley thought back to last night at the club.

-FLASHBACK-

_Smiling ruefully at him. "You manage to always get a girl. Remember during high school? You had all the girls following you and fawning over you. And I remember that girl who proposed to you!" Patting him and laughing, she said, "Yup. Really talented."_

"But not the girl that counts."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, I never got the girl I wanted." He repeated, staring intensely at her.

"Oh." She replied. Thinking about how many dates he'd been on so far and who THE LUCKY GIRL was, she felt like crying.

-END FLASHBACK-

"So what did he say exactly?" Joanne said, jarring Haley from her thoughts.

Haley felt bad now. He hadn't even said anything at all. He may have even been hinting at her. _G-d, I feel like a btch. _She thought. Slipping past Joanne into the living room, she answered, "I'm not sure."

"You're not sure and you just left him there? There must've been SOMETHING he said to make you leave in such a hurry."

"Well, he said he never got the girl he wanted. And-"

"Didn't it ever occur to you that it might have been you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. You. How did he say it? Did he look at other girls, or did he stare at you, only you?"

Thinking over it, she choked, "Me. Oh my goodness. He could've meant me, huh?" Haley got all excited, then remembering how she left, her spirit crashed. "But I left him there. For all I know he could've gone home with another girl."

Joanne shook her head, frustrated with Haley's paranoia. "Girl. You need to get a hold of your self-esteem. He didn't, okay? We don't know for sure, but I bet he wouldn't have." Giving her a smile, she added, "Now get dressed. Wouldn't want to be late, would we?"

Haley gave her a grateful smile, her spirit returning. Haley skipped to the bathroom, leaving a happy Joanne shaking her head amused behind her.


End file.
